2.9 miles (4.7 km) | 27:42 | 9:30/mile (5:54/km)

This was an easy run over the same loop route as yesterday but in the opposite (counterclockwise) direction. Temperatures were about the same as all week, hovering around 0 C (32 F). A tiny bit of fresh snow was down, but already melted in places that they'd salted.

On motivation: I really, really didn't want to run this morning. I worked late last night, had a late 10 PM dinner, was up reading until midnight, and didn't sleep well. When 6 AM rolled around, I wanted to go back to bed and turn this into an unscheduled rest day.

I told myself that I would just swap today's run and tomorrow's rest day. After about 10 minutes, I decided to go out and do it. There was no good physical reason not to, and it was only an easy run of less than 3 miles/30 minutes.

On toes: my little toe on my left foot is hurting me a bit. It's got a weird toenail that is really tiny and hardly ever grows (at least, I never have to cut it). Yesterday it was sore to walk around on it, and sore in my boots I wear on the trip to work. I'm not sure if it was yesterday's running shoes or the boots that did it.

I've got two pairs of running shoes that I alternate. The ones I wore today didn't seem to bother the toe.

I've also got long second toes on both feet, longer than my big toes. That means they rub on most running shoes. They're not blistered yet because when I started running last week I used two pairs of socks for warmth. But they are a little sore on the tips.

Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day. Other than my toes, I don't feel sore anywhere. I'd like to keep that up.

2.9 miles (4.7 km) | 27:01 | 9:13/mile (5:44/km)

Another dark morning running at 6:20 AM. Today there was light snow as well. The temperature was mild, right around 0 C (32 F). It was absolutely beautiful.

My GPS watch was not getting great satellite reception (overcast?). It showed my pace varying quite a bit from below 8:00/mile to almost 11:00/mile. It was also strange that my heart rate was low, down around 125 bpm, for the first 0.8 of a mile before jumping up to about 180 bpm for the rest of the run. The heart rate monitor must not have been getting good reception either, or I didn't have it fitted properly.

Tomorrow I'll try the same loop in the opposite direction.

2.16 miles (3.48 km) | 18:45 | 8:40/mile (5:23/km)

After a scheduled off day on Sunday, this was another short, easy run. It was the first time running in the dark this year; I left before 6:30 in the morning. It was chilly again, but not too bad once I started running. Temperature was about -1 C (30 F).

My average pace was helped by two one-hundred meter sections where I picked it up to about 6:30/mile just to see what it felt like. My legs (quadriceps especially) were stiff yesterday, but they seem to have recovered and felt good running today.

I plan to run about 30 minutes tomorrow.

2.2 miles (3.6 km) | 19:39 | 8:51/mile (5:30/km)

2.2 miles (3.6 km) | 20:07 | 9:02/mile (5:37/km)

First two runs of the year (and in a long time). The first one was January 1, the second was today. It's chilly here (26 F/-3 C), but not too cold once I start running.

I didn't remember to put on the heart rate monitor yesterday until I was already bundled up, and then I didn't want to bother. Today, I had it on. Average heart rate was 163 bpm. It was higher for the second half of the run and my pace was even.

Overall, I felt pretty good. I'm trying not to overdo it while it's still easy. My quadriceps were sore after the first run. I plan to take a scheduled day off tomorrow.